Editorial | Dr Chang is wrong

Because he knows better, this newspaper is repeatedly taken aback by Horace Chang’s demonisation of civil society and other organisations that insist on accountability by the police, including that they wear cameras on operations, especially those that carry a higher risk of injury or death of citizens.

There is a perception that the national security minister’s behaviour is an attempt at moral blackmail. For there is no way it could have escaped Dr Chang that there is nothing incompatible between wanting, and welcoming, less crime, including fewer murders, supporting the police, but being deeply perturbed by the sharp upward spiral in the fatal shooting of citizens by cops.

Indeed, there is a greater obligation for transparency and accountability by groups to which the society entrusts enormous powers, including, in the case of the police, the right, in lawful circumstances, to take the lives of citizens. This should make the use of body-worn cameras by constables a matter of priority and urgency.

Jamaicans can’t be blamed if they harbour a suspicion that there is deliberate stalling on this front and a concomitant attempt to undermine confidence in groups that campaign for the default wearing of body-worn cameras (BWCs) by suggesting that the campaigners would undermine safety and security. In other words, their actions are contrary to the national interest.

LATEST ASSAULT

The latest assault against the civil society groups who complain about the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s (JCF) failure to assign BWC’s to officers who go on planned operations (PO) – these account for half of the police’s fatal shootings – came Dr Chang’s remarks last week during his contribution to Parliament’s sectoral debate, and afterwards at a post-Cabinet press briefing.

He curiously repeated his widely debunked argument that the use of BWCs was impractical, if not impossible, in operations where there were tactical manoeuvres, the element of surprise was necessary, and shooting was likely to happen. He also concocted the insistence on transparency and accountability into a claim of civil society groups wanting to give operational direction to the police commissioner, which is solely within his province.

“This thing that you must wear a camera when you going to look for a man who has a M16 that’s firing 60 rounds per second is a crazy idea,” Dr Chang said at the press briefing.

He also suggested that the blinking lights on BWCs – which can be turned off without deactivating the equipment could identify the positions of police to criminal gunmen during operations.

A day earlier in Parliament, Dr Chang reiterated the Government’s plan to continue to acquire body-worn cameras for the 14,000 member constabulary, at a rate of one a year over three years.

But the minister said: “No civil society organisation can tell us where to put them.”

He added: “... Let me make it plain, (with respect to) the police force my job is oversight and providing equipment. … They do policing. We have an excellent commissioner of police.”

Dr Chang, maybe intentionally, misapprehends the argument – and his role in setting policy for the constabulary, while the police chief, Kevin Blake, in the language of the law, is responsible for the “superintendence” of the force. He also ignores the context.

REDUCTION IN CRIME

Every rational Jamaican welcomes the sharp reduction in crime, and in particular homicides, over the last two years. The 673 murders in 2025, a 43 per cent decline on the previous year, which followed a 22 per cent drop in 2023. Last was the first time in more than three decades that murders were below 700. This downward spiral has continued into 2026.

Unfortunately, this decline in criminal homicides is being outstripped by an increase in fatal police shootings. In 2025 the police killed 310 citizens, 64 per cent more than 2024, when there was a 26 per cent increase. So far this year, the police have killed 105 citizens, roughly tracking last year.

The JCF insists that police homicides are the result of cops coming under attack from violent criminals, of which there are plenty in Jamaica.

But as the Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM), the agency that investigates police shootings, as well as complaints of abuse against the security forces, often points out, none of these incidents have ever been captured on BWCs. However, there have been instances of footage from closed circuit television and home cameras appearing to contradict these claims, which are also often disputed by community members and families of victims. Moreover, as INDECOM and civil society groups frequently assert, although planned police operations, which have the advantage of tactical preparation, account for a small fraction of police interaction with citizens, they account for around half of police homicides.

It is logical and sensible that units involved in planned operations, as is the case in the UK, be prioritised in the deployment of BWCs. It would be good for the police and citizens.

Dr Chang is wrong that this is purely an operational question, and not a matter of policy. It is within the remit of the minister to insist that units undertaking certain types of operations, must, as policy, be equipped with BWCs. That doesn’t intrude on operational functions.